Device fob fobming waves in haib



M. E. AYER.

DEVICE FOR FOBMING'WAVES IN HAIR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18. 1918.

1,323,565. I PatentediDec. 2,1919.

javaniorx Ww yE 17 ew- MARY E. AYER, 0F NEWTON, ItIASSACI-IUSETTS.

DEVICE FOR FORMING WAVES IN HAIR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2, 1919..

Application filed March 18, 1918. Serial No. 223,253.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MARY E. Arnie, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Newton, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Devices for Forming Waves in Hair, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means or devices for forming the human hair into waves, being intended for use by the feminine part of humanity. The principal object of the device is to form a comparatively fiat wave without application of heat, and by means which can be easily and successfully employed by the person whose hair is thus treated, and without the aid of professional hair-dressers. To make the popular socalled Marcel wave requires the services of a skilled hair-dresser and the use of a hot iron; while the appliances and devices with which I am acquainted intended for use by the person whose hair is to be waved or curled produce a round or twisted frizzly wave, without sufficiently sharp bends, and without the flatness in the curled or waved lock of hair which is so desirable; while the bends or waves formed by the aid of such devices, except those to which heat is applied, are extremely fugitive.

Obj ectssubsidiaiy and contributory to the above stated object are to furnish means which will form a strand of hair into a wavy line with sharply defined and relatively permanent reverse bends, and to so form the strand that the bends have even a tendency to overlap or underlap one another.

The invention consists in the novel fea-- tures and improvements embodied in the constructions illustrated in the drawlngs forming part of this speclfication and polnted out in the claims which I will now deor" wire doubled upon itself forming two legs a and a with a connecting bend a The prong Z) being made by oifsetting a sharply doubled portion of one of the legs, as a, and the prong 0 formed by similarly offsetting a part of the other leg a The legs a and a establish the plane of the base, and the prongs b and 0 are so formed as to project approximately parallel to one another in substantially the same direction from the plane of the base, being also preferably substantially perpendicular to such plane.

The two prongs are separated from one another lengthwise of the base by a distance sufficient for weaving the strand of hair in and out between them and are maintained by the base in that relation to one another. They are also set back from the ends of the base; or in other words, the ends of the base project beyond the points from which the pron s rise.

In the use of the device a strand of hair, which preferably has first been ITLOlSilGHGd, is passed across one of the prongs, as b, and between the prongs, then is bent sharply around the prong c, then passed again between the prongs but in the opposite maimer, and bent sharply around the prong b, and so on, passing around and between the prongs in alternation as many times as the length of the strand permits, or as needed to form a wave in any selected part of the strand. In being interwoven with the prongs the strand should be drawn tightly.

It will be apparent from analysis of the structure thus described and shown that each of the parts herein identified as a prong consists essentially of two distinct bending members arranged lengthwise of the base. These bending members of the prong b are designated in the drawings b and b and of the prong c as c and 0 The members 7) and c are spaced farther apart from one another than are the members 6 and 0 and for this reason I have called I) and 0, for the purposes of this specification, the outer bending members, and Z9 and 0 the inner bending members. Such inner members, however, spaced far enough apart to permit a strand of hair to be passed between them. Preferably also the bending members of each prong are in a difierent plane from the elements of the other prong, wherefrom it results that the inner members 12 and c are olfset to opposite sides of a line or plane joining the outer elements of the two prongs. That is, referring to Fig. 1, if a line be drawn from the middle point in the outer curve of the bending member Z) to the corresponding point of the member c', the point on the inner bending member 6 against which the strand bears will be found at one side, and the corresponding point of the member 0 at the opposite side, of this line. In consequence, those lengths or stretches of the strand which are passed, in being wound pen the device, around and between the innerbending members a and c are given outward bends in addition to the bends formed in the strand by the outer bending members Z) and 0, while those adjacent lengths or stretches which pass directly from one outer bending member to the other are not given this additional bend.

Thus, while the strand in being passed between and around said bending members, is shaped into the form of loops which together make the general outline of a figure d, the loops are not perfectly symmetrical, but in one side of each there is formed this additional outward bend.

I provide in connection with the article as above described a retainer or binder (Z which is passed around the base of the device and around the mass of hair which is intertwined with the prong. This binder is so applied as to exert pressure on the mass of hair com pressing it against the base; Pref-- crably suchbinder is made or elastic webbing doubled and stitched together to form a loop, the circumference of which is enough less than that oi the mass of hair which it isiutended to surround as to cause it to exert the desired pressure on the hair. Instead of a loop, however, the binder may be otherwise made and applice, provided only it is so applied as to exert pressure as described. The binder thus characterized is a part of my invention for which I claim protection.

A very useful and valuable feature of the invention which I claim also comprises a tab (Z on the binder so formed as to extend outward from the circumference of the loop, that is away from the mass of hair encircled by the binder. The tab may be grasped between the thumb and fingers of the hand and pulled upon to stretch the binder so that it can be sli pod over one of the prongs and taken oii. Since such tab may be thus grasped wlthout any hairs being included in the grip of the fingers, it is a provision for taking off the binder without at the same time snarling o1- pulling the hair.

When the strand has been removed from the wave :r'ormer after having remained bends, which may for convenience of description be called the crests of the wave, there are additional bends. bends cause the stretches of the strand between them to be more steeply inclined than would otherwise be the case, and make possible an overlapping to a greater or less ex tent of adjacent undulations, when the crests are laid close together; an effect which is not possible when the hair wave is formed by being bent around and between single bending members, or indeed any bending instrumentalities whatever which comprise essentially outer, more widely spaced members, and inner members which are less widely spaced.

1 do not necessarily limit the invention to the arrangement above described where the inner and outer bending members are in different planes, but I do claim an essential feature of the invention the arr ngement of distinct inner and outer bei .ng 'members of whici the inner members are materially nearer to one another than are the outer members. Such distinct bending members are essential to secure the improved effect in a hair wave above described, that. is, the production of additional bonds between the crests or principal bends of the wave, which produce the elicct so much to be desired of a smart, fiat, wave lying close to the head. This eiiect is intensified by the offsetting of the inner members to respectively opposite sides of the line oining the outer members.

The wire construction hereinbeforc described lends itself admirably to the formation of prongs constructed and arranged as described. The device,however. is not necessarily'l-imitcd to the wire construction, I

but it may be formed or molded of sheet or plate material, or a plastic substance, substantially as shown in Figs. 4, 5,and (i. iiLS-SO made the device embodies a base and prongs, here designated by the numerals 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and the. prongs are separated from one another both longitudinally and laterally of the base, and have greater width than thick; ess, where y they furnish the equivalent of the inner and outer bending elements, already described, in their opposite edges 21, 22 and 31, 32, respectively. Such edges are the operative parts of the prongs 2i and 3; and of these the edges 21 and 31 are the outer bending members and 22 and 32 are the inner bending members, having the relative arrangement substantially as described. /Vhen made from sheet metal, the prongs may be stamped out from the. sheet integral with the base, substantially as shown by dotted lines 2' and 3b in Fig. a, being subsequently bent up perpendicular to the plane of the base as shown in Figsko and 6. The material used, need not be'metal, however, but

do not Such additional 7 may be of any substance which is adapted to be molded or fabricated, such as celluloid, rubber composition, etc.

That part of the device which I have herein called the base is essentially a connecting member which holds the prongs in the relation to one another as described, and provides also the projections extending outwardly from the prongs to retain the hair and prevent it from slipping from the base ends of the prongs. The term base therefore as used in this description is not a limiting term and is not intended to restrict the scope of the invention. There is this advantage, however, in providing a base which is in a plane transverse to the direction in which the prongs project, that it enables the base to be so placed against the users head that the prongs project outwardly, at any point where the user desires a wave of the dressed hair to lie, whereby just that part of the s rand or st ands of hair in which the wave is to be formed may be wound upon the device; or to be placed flat upon a table for winding false hair or a so-called.

transformation. In this connection the projecting ends have a function in providing finger holds against which the user may press to hold the device in place.

My idea is that a woman could wind her hair on the device herein described very quickly in the course .of dressing, and that l by the time she had nearly completed her toilet the hair would be waver. It should not be combed after being waved but should be pulled apart lightly as far as needed with the fingers after the hair has otherwise been dressed; there being thus produced the so much to be des1red efiect, a smart, flat,

wave lying close to the head.

What I claim and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is:

l. A hair wave forming device provided *ith members around which a strand of hair may be wound in loop form, said members having means to outwardly ofiset portions of the strand contiguous to the ends of the loop.

2. A hair wave forming device provided with members so positioned that a strand of hair may be wound around them in loops having the general form of a figure 8, said members having means to out-- wardly ofiset portions of the strand contiguous to the ends of the loop.

3. A hair wave forming device provided with means for shaping a strand of hail into loop form with principal bends at the ends and having means positloned laterally with respect to the median line of the loop for imparting additional outwardly ofiset bends in the strand contiguous to and between the principal bends.

A. A hair wave forming device comprising outer and inner forming members and a connecting member holding-the same with said inner forming members nearer together than said outer members and disposed on respecti vely opposite sides of the straight line j oining the outer members, and in position to permit a strand of hair to be passed between said inner members, and around and between the outer bending members;'whereby said outer members are adapted to form the principal bends of a wave impressed on the strand, and said inner members to form additional intermediate bends.

5. A hair wave forming d vice compris ing a single piece of wire provided with a base shaped to rest against the users head, and integral shaping prongs approximately perpendicular to said base throughout their lengths and substantially parallelwith each other, said prongs being relatively positioned to have strands of hair wound therearound independently of the base when the latter is placed against the users head.

6. A hair wave forming device comprising a single piece of wire provided with a base shaped to rest against the users head, and integral shaping prongs approximately perpendicular to said base and substantially parallel with each other, said prongs being relatively positioned to have stands of hair wound therearound independently of the see when the latter is placed against the users head, the wire forming the base being extended to provide finger gripping portions which also serve as stops to prevent the hair from slipping off of the prongs.

7. A hair wave forming device comprising a base provided with substantially straight hair receiving projections adjacentopposite edges of the base, each projection having portions extending in planes subs antially parallel to each other, whereby the hair may be looped around said proj ections substantially in the form of a figure 3 with outwardly offset bends, and while the base is resting against the users head.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

MARY E. AYER. 

